Roles Of A Lifetime
by flowerrrs25
Summary: A reimagining of the concert video when Ross talks about Raura. And the aftermath. Three-shot.
1. Starting Out As Friends

"Roles Of A Lifetime"

Summary: A reimagining of the concert video when Ross talks about Raura. And the aftermath. Three-shot.

Disclaimer: I don't own…Ross and Laura? Or R5? Or any of their songs.

A/N: I honestly tried to resist writing Raura for as long as I could but Ross literally makes it impossible. So blame him.

* * *

There's a lull between songs when they pause to catch their breath and talk to the audience. Usually it's about the band, or the city they're in that night, not one-sided-loves-of-their-lives.

So naturally, tonight, of all nights, Riker asks him about Auslly and before he knows what he's saying he's talking about Ross and Laura, not Austin and Ally.

"It depends on if they want the characters together, or us together in real life," he says, and then immediately wishes someone would punch him in the face right about now because there was absolutely _no reason_ to bring that up.

"What's the real life pairing?" asks Riker, and the audience screams, "Raura! Raura!"

"Raura," he says quietly.

"Who ships Raura?" Ellington asks from behind him and he turns his head to look at the drummer and the audience goes insane.

The audience is still screaming but somehow he hears someone suddenly yell, "Laura's perfect!"

"I know she is," he says, and it's like his brain hates him or something because he _so_ should not be talking about this right now. He swallows and looks around to see that Riker and Rocky are staring at him incredulously.

But it's already a train wreck so he just keeps going. Maybe he's a masochist.

"But she said no," he says softly, and the audience quiets and he just stares out, frozen in disbelief at what he's just done.

His band mates are in shock too, it seems, until Rydel finally snaps out of it, laughing nervously into the microphone. "Okay, Ross, haha, I think it's time for you to sing?"

He turns his head to look at her behind him and she widens her eyes, giving him a _what the hell do you think you're doing?_ look. He wishes he knew. He really, really wishes he knew.

He finally manages to compose himself and the next thing he knows he's singing _Not A Love Song_, and how appropriate is that because it _is_ a love song and in his head, his crazy, messed up head, the characters they play are really them, aren't they?

The rest of the show passes by while he's in a daze and he signs autographs afterward mechanically, taking photos with fans with a standard, just-add-water smile that he's gotten to be pretty good at making look real.

His parents and Ryland stay behind to clean up and talk to the owners of the venue so at least he doesn't have to face his mom quite yet but the band walks silently to the tour bus together after they're finished signing. Once they're inside they all turn on him and start talking at once. He looks at his shoes and lets it happen.

"Ross, what the _hell_ were you thinking?"

"Are you insane?"

"This is going to be all over the internet!"

"She's going to find out, you know," Riker says quietly, and he lifts his head to look at his oldest brother.

He just stares at him for a moment before he spins around, heading to the back of the bus to his bunk. "I'm going to bed," he says. "I don't want to talk about this."

He ignores their questions and their yelling and he climbs in fully clothed and draws the curtain shut and stares at the ceiling. He replays the entire _incident_ in his mind and there's no misinterpreting or spinning what he said. He's just told the world, because let's be honest, all of those teenagers in there are on Twitter and Tumblr and YouTube and the news has no doubt already spread like wildfire. He's dreading looking at his mentions but he _really_ must hate himself because he picks up his phone and scrolls through his feed. Probably 98% of his them have something to do with him and Laura and the other 2% are the standard will you marry me/you're so hot/can I have your babies tweets that he ignores.

Some of the tweets are full of pity: "Aww Ross, keep your head up, you'll find the right girl someday!" But there's only one girl.

Some of them are encouraging: "Dude, make a move! She's so into you!" and he files those away into his brain for when he needs to be cheered up. Like right now.

Some of them are insults about Laura: "She's a whore/slut/bitch who doesn't deserve you/isn't worth your time." Those make him want to throw his phone into the wall. Or maybe his fist, he's not sure.

He doesn't do either of those things though, and just keeps scrolling and scrolling and scrolling until it's a blur and he feels his eyelids getting heavy. He welcomes sleep because at least it'll allow him to get a brief respite from all of _this_, and he's just about to drift away when he feels his phone vibrate.

He knows who it's from before he even looks at it and he sees that he's right when he looks at the screen. _Laura Marano. Text Message_. He swallows nervously before sliding the lock and he enters his password and he thinks he might throw up when he sees the words staring up at him.

_We need to talk._

Oh, shit.

* * *

_Thank you to all for reading!_


	2. Real And Not Pretend

A/N: Man, this really got away from me. I had planned on writing 1000 words max but there's _just so much_ to overanalyze. Someone should probably stop me.

* * *

He doesn't sleep that night. He stares at the text message until his eyes can't focus anymore and of course he doesn't reply because what could he _possibly _say?

Hey Laura, did you want to talk about how I told a bunch of random people that I think you're perfect?

Hey Laura, did you want to talk about how I told the world that you rejected me?

Hey Laura, did you want to talk about how I'm in love with you?

Or maybe the one he's been leaning towards: Oh, heyyy Laur, talk about what? O_o

He may or may not be losing his mind.

But maybe he doesn't have to respond, because oh yeah, he can reply _in person tomorrow_. He flips over and buries his face in the pillow as he remembers that they're flying to LA for the day to film new promos for the show and he prays desperately to whoever is listening that they'll be too busy to have any time alone together.

Because he's pretty sure she's going to kill him.

But then again, he's already halfway there himself because all he keeps replaying in his head is the events of the past couple of months, starting from the night she had said no.

* * *

It wasn't actually that long ago, the night he decides to tell her that he likes her as more than a friend because let's face it, they've been tiptoeing around it for over a year now and it's obvious to anyone that looks at them and 'patient' isn't really a word that describes him.

He tells her on the night of the Valentine's Day party because he's a sucker for every cliché in the book and kind of a hopeless romantic and she's wearing a red dress and she looks _so _pretty.

He asks her toward the end of the night if he can talk to her, alone, and she looks a little confused but follows him outside anyway. He stands in front of her and looks at her straight in the eyes and takes a deep breath and tells her that he likes her, that no, he really _likes_ her, and he'd like to take her on a date, and that he thinks she's beautiful, and that his favorite thing in the world is making up stupid jokes for her just to know that he's the reason behind her laugh.

She just stares at him after he stops and he can't read her expression so he fidgets nervously, which is new for him because he _never_ gets nervous. Finally, after what seems like years but has probably only been a few seconds, she steps forward and wraps her arms around his neck and he thinks he hasn't known what happiness is until that moment. But then.

But then, she steps back and he grins at her but she just looks up at him with the saddest smile he's ever seen and his heart plummets to the ground because he suddenly knows what's coming.

"I can't," she says quietly. "We can't."

"Why?" he whispers back, his voice (and his heart) breaking. "Why not, Laura?"

"There's too much riding on us, on this. Our careers, our futures. If we—" She cuts herself off and he sees that her eyes are a little wet and his heart isn't just broken, it's officially shattered into a million pieces and he wonders if he'll ever be able to put it back together without her help.

She takes a deep breath and then looks up at him, her face stiff. "We _work_ together, Ross. If we…if anything were to go wrong, we could end up ruining it for everyone, not just us. Raini, Calum, everyone." She pauses and he watches as her face crumples a little bit. "Maybe even R5. Or whatever I end up doing with my own music."

He frowns. "Why are you assuming it would go wrong?" he asks, his voice wavering. "Why can't it be a good thing?"

She shakes her head. "I'm not assuming that. I'm saying that there are too many ways for it to go wrong and too many really bad consequences if it were to go wrong."

"What do you mean by too many ways for it to go wrong?"

She looks past him and doesn't say anything right away. "We've never really talked about this, but I already get a lot of…hate. From your fans. And you know me. I don't really know if I can…deal with any more of that."

He doesn't know what to say. What can he say? That they'd be worth it? That _he'd_ be worth it?

He can't imagine a scenario where she wouldn't get hurt, at least a little bit, and he can't bear the thought that he would be the reason behind it.

"Laura—" he tries, his voice desperate.

"Please, Ross," she says, and her is voice is shaking.

He's silent for a long moment but then he nods and tries to smile at her to show her he's okay because what else can he do? They might be done filming for now, but they're going to Australia together, then New York, and he bitterly thinks that at least he'll get better at acting because he's about to give the best performance of his life, by pretending to be okay with not being with her.

She tries to smile back at him but her mouth is trembling and two tears escape from her eyes and run down her cheeks.

He's brushing them away before he can even think about it and his fingers linger on her cheekbones, cupping her face gently. She looks up at him with wide eyes and she rocks forward ever so slightly and then he's kissing her and she's _kissing him back_ and they're not acting, they're not Austin and Ally, they're Ross and Laura and it's perfect and it's _perfect_ and all he wants is to stay in this moment, with her, forever.

But then she's pulling away and running a hand over her eyes and he feels her loss like a physical blow.

"I am so sorry," she says, her eyes wide, and backs away, looking down at her feet. "I'll um…I'll see you when we go to Australia."

He watches her as she runs inside and then he lets himself fall apart a little bit and he thinks he finally understands what those songs he listens to about heartbreak and loss and regret are all about, because he's living it, he's _living_ it, and suddenly, nothing really matters anymore.

* * *

He should really win an Oscar, he thinks, as he watches her struggle to lift her suitcase onto the scale as they check in for their flight to Australia. She's wearing glasses and sweatpants and her hair is a little frizzy and she's _lovely_ but he's managing to not even look at her.

Much.

Well, if every three seconds counts as not much.

He hasn't seen her in a little over a week, which is a year as far as he's concerned, and he watches her for a couple more seconds before he finally steps forward.

"Here, let me help you," he says and easily lifts the suitcase. He doesn't miss the way she stiffens slightly as he accidentally brushes against her but he doesn't draw attention to it. Instead, he looks down at her and smiles maybe a little too brightly. "Are you pumped?" he asks, trying to sound as normal as possible.

She relaxes when she sees that he's not going to try to bring it up again. Not that he would, even if both of their mothers hadn't been standing right there, but she doesn't know that. "For sure!" she says excitedly. "This is going to be awesome!"

He can't help but grin at her enthusiasm and when she hesitantly grins back he thinks that maybe, just maybe, he can do this.

They're the first ones to board the plane and on impulse he asks if they can take a picture in the cockpit and he tweets it right away because sometimes her adorable-ness needs to be shared with the world. They sit next to each other and it's awkward for a while before it's not and they're talking like they always did, and he's making her laugh with the stupidest jokes he can think of.

"What did the banana give to the monkey?" he asks, and then pauses. She looks at him expectantly, waiting for the answer. "A banana!" he says, and she bursts out laughing, causing a few nearby passengers to look at them strangely. "Because they eat bananas!" she says, still laughing, and he grins at her despite feeling his heart sink just a little bit more because he knows he's got it _bad_.

When they get there their schedule is packed and he can't stop staring as they do interview after interview after interview, and it's really nothing new for him but he's a little more aware of it now.

Knowing that he does it doesn't mean he can stop, though.

He teases her and she laughs at him and it's almost like nothing ever happened except for the fact that it has. The trip passes by in a Laura-filled blur and there are more almost-moments between them than he can count that make him wonder if she's also having trouble dealing with this.

He clings to that tiny glimmer of hope like it's all he has left.

* * *

New York happens in the same way, except they're not alone as often and he's a little more distracted with the band's tour that's rapidly approaching.

Distracted doesn't mean he's blind, though, as he watches her on the red carpet next to him. He's in the middle of doing an interview but he can't stop staring, even as he struggles to focus on both her and the questions he's being asked. Her hair is straight and she looks flawless, like always, but who's even counting anymore?

Oh, that's right, he is.

When they have to take pictures together he's careful to keep his arm around her shoulders in a standard we're-just-friends pose even though he wants nothing more than to wrap his arm around her waist possessively and pull her close, because let's face it, he's the jealous type and he hates sharing even though he has four siblings.

But he doesn't. He smiles for the cameras and acts like everything is normal in all of their interviews but then it's his last day in New York and he realizes that he's not going to see her for weeks.

He pulls her aside ten minutes before he's about to head to the airport because he can't leave without talking to her and he just has to _try_ one last time, and giving up is something that he doesn't know how to do.

"What did you want—" she starts, but he cuts her off.

"I'm not even close to being over you," he says bluntly, and watches as she raises her eyebrows.

He's never really been one for subtlety.

She clears her throat and looks away. "Ross…"

"I know. I know you said no. But I'm asking you to think about it, to really think about it." He moves so he's standing in front of her so she has no choice but to look at him.

She narrows her eyes. "Do you honestly think I haven't thought about it? That I haven't been thinking about it since that night?"

He opens his mouth to say something but she continues.

"I…I, um, like you too. In case you had any doubts."

And there's that that fragment of hope again.

"But nothing's changed since Valentine's Day," she says, and it disappears as quickly as it came. "Besides, you're about to go on tour. We'll have some time apart, which will be good."

She pauses and looks past him. "And there'll be, you know, girls, or whatever, to distract you."

He can't believe what he's hearing and stands there, looking at her incredulously.

She turns to walk away but he grabs her wrist and spins her back around. "Are you serious, Laura? Are you _freaking _seri—"

She shrugs and wrenches her hand away. "I don't know, Ross! Maybe! You're the one that told the world that you were girl crazy! I figured you were getting over it. You've been acting like everything's completely normal. What am I supposed to think? I just—"

"That was about you," he interrupts quietly. "Who else could it _possibly_ be about? You're the only _girl_ I spent more than two minutes with while we were in Australia. And I've been acting normal because I thought that's what you wanted!"

She lets out a defeated sigh. "I don't know, okay? This isn't just hard for you, you know," she says softly.

"But it's still no?" he asks flatly.

"No," she whispers. He nods.

"Okay," he hears himself say. "Okay, I'll see you in a few weeks."

"Have a great tour. You're going to be amazing," she says softly, and smiles at him, because she's Laura and she loves giving compliments and she's not good at hiding when she's genuinely happy for him.

He tries to smile back but he finds himself unable to and just looks at her for a moment until he's stepping forward, wrapping his arms around her. She doesn't push him away and instead winds her arms around his neck and presses herself to him as he lets his head drop to her shoulder. "I'll miss you," he mumbles into her neck, and he feels her tighten her arms around him.

They stay like that for longer than what's probably considered appropriate for two people who are trying to be just friends but then he hears his name being called and they step apart.

"Bye, Laura," he says.

She smiles, a small, sad smile that makes his chest tighten painfully.

"Bye, Ross."

* * *

That was the last time they had communicated since The Text, as he had been referring to it in his mind.

It's almost five am when they leave for the airport and they're in the car when his mom finally questions him about last night.

"Are you okay?" she asks, her face concerned.

"No," he says, and then turns his head to stare out the window.

He's a little surprised when she doesn't push it but apparently she knows her son well enough by now to know he's not going to talk if he doesn't want to, and he's almost completely silent for the entire trip.

And now, their car is pulling up to the studio and he's about to see her in oh, less than a minute, and he thinks something might be seriously wrong with him because he's pretty sure his heart isn't supposed to be pounding this hard.

He steps out of the car numbly and doesn't even have a _second_ to prepare because he sees her the moment he walks inside. Her back is to him as she talks to Raini and he thanks god for that tiny miracle but then Raini sees him and calls his name. He watches as she physically tenses before turning around and it's all he can do to keep from running away, far, _far_ away, when he sees the look on her face.

"Hey, guys," he says weakly. "How's it going?"

Raini opens her mouth to say something but Laura steps in front of her, her eyes flashing. "Oh, I'm fine, Ross. Just great. In fact, I heard some really interesting stuff last night. And saw a really interesting video online. I even texted you about it, but I think your phone might be broken?"

She takes a step toward him. "Do you want to maybe discuss those _really interesting _events?"

He laughs nervously and takes a step back. "Um, I'm okay, Laura. Besides, don't we have to um, work today?"

She looks at the clock on the wall. "Oh, I think we actually have a few minutes, Ross."

She reaches out and grabs his wrist and starts dragging him to the nearest empty room before he even knows what's happening and then she slams the door and faces him.

"Explain," she snaps.

He's never seen Laura angry before but he's pretty certain he never wants to see it again.

Because he's kind of maybe absolutely terrified.

* * *

Thanks for reading and reviewing!


	3. You And I Can Even Write The End

Disclaimer: Ross and Laura and R5 or their songs are not mine. Neither is Austin and Ally.

A/N: And here's the end! Now that this is finally out of my brain, I can go back to writing my very long, almost finished Auslly story. Sigh. These two are going to be the death of me.

* * *

He thinks back to the first time they met.

He's at the final screen test for the show and there are three boys left for the role of Austin and three girls left for the role of Ally. He's the only blond in the crowd and that makes him worry for some irrational reason.

He and Laura are the first to be paired to read together and he isn't exactly nervous, but kind of anxious to prove himself. They call her name first and he watches as a short, brown haired girl wearing jeans and flats stands up. She looks like what he imagined Ally to look like, he decides.

They don't even have a chance to introduce themselves before they're thrust into the scene but not even twenty seconds into it he has this feeling that he _is_ Austin Moon and she _is_ Ally Dawson.

When they're done they're taken into another room and told that someone will get them when it's time to switch partners and then the door closes and they're alone.

"Hi, I'm Laura," she says, sticking her hand out.

He pauses for a second because he's never met a girl his age who introduces herself with a handshake but then he finds himself grasping her small hand firmly in his larger one. "I'm Ross. It's nice to meet you."

She smiles shyly at him and he grins back and then they're both laughing for some reason and he doesn't even have a doubt in his mind that they're both going to be cast.

"That was the best audition I've ever done," she says, when they finally calm down.

"We're gonna get it," he says. "There's no question."

"You really think so?" she asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Positive," he says confidently. "So we should probably get to know each other better since we'll be spending the next few years together."

Her eyes widen and her other eyebrow joins the first. "Wow, you're modest," she says sarcastically, and then laughs because she definitely felt what he felt when they were on stage.

He grins back.

They end up spending the entire afternoon together because neither of them is called to read with anyone else and that makes her more nervous and him more confident. They sit on the floor cross legged across from each other and talk for hours and he finds out that she has an amazing voice and that she plays piano, she's obsessed with GoGurt, she has an older sister who's also an actress, she goes to an actual high school, and that she's a songwriter in real life.

He hears his very first Laura joke that day and she can't stop laughing as she tells it and he swallows nervously as he watches her eyes light up when she delivers the punch line because he has a sinking feeling that he's pretty much screwed.

He finds out three days later that he's been cast as Austin Moon and she's been cast as Ally Dawson and then receives a text from her four minutes later.

_You were right! This is so exciting! Aren't you excited?_

Then, ten seconds later, before he can even reply:

_I can't wait to see you again._

Okay, totally, completely, utterly _screwed_.

* * *

Now, he's pretty sure he's screwed again. But in a completely different not-at-all-good way.

"Well?" she asks impatiently, her eyes narrowed. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

He snaps out of it when he hears her voice and opens his mouth to apologize, to beg for forgiveness, to tell her that he didn't really mean it, to say that his mind was taken over by an army of miniature mind-controlling orange aliens, really, anything but what actually comes out.

"I'm in love with you."

He should probably work on figuring out why his mouth doesn't seem to want to obey his brain.

Both of their eyes widen and they're both stunned into silence for a full minute before she recovers. She shakes her head and looks at the ground.

"No. You don't get to say that. You don't get to do that," she says, her voice shaky. "I can't—"

"I said it because it's true," he interrupts, and something in his voice makes her look up at him and he gets a little burst of courage. "And because I mean it. I know we're only seventeen and still figuring out who we are and maybe I shouldn't even know what that word means yet."

He takes a step closer to her. "But I'm not myself without you anymore. I know I'm better when you're there. And I know it's going to be hard. And a lot of people will say it's a bad idea and you might get hurt and I won't always be able to do anything about it."

Another step forward, and he can almost reach her hand. "But I'll try. I will try so hard. I've felt it since the day we met. We've always had this…thing between us, something that I can't explain."

He pauses. "We fit."

Her eyes are full of an emotion that he doesn't recognize and she's looking at him in a way that he can't tell what she's thinking so he forges on and takes another step closer, feeling like he has nothing to lose anymore, and takes her hand in his.

She doesn't try to resist but instead squeezes his hand almost imperceptibly and he counts that as a small victory. "I'm so sorry that I did what I did at the concert. I honestly have no idea what I was thinking. I've kind of been having trouble controlling what comes out of my mouth lately, if you haven't noticed."

The corner of her mouth turns up, just a little bit, and he can tell she's trying not to smile because she looks away and bites her lip.

He grins at her, despite everything, and she makes the mistake of looking at him because she can't keep a straight face anymore and finally gives him a reluctant half smile.

"Say something," he whispers, when her face is serious again.

"I'm still mad at you," she says. "But maybe not as much. What you said…" she trails off and searches his eyes. "That was—"

He doesn't get to hear her finish because the next thing he knows the door opens and a guy from their crew pokes his head in the door.

"Are you two ready? Hair and makeup's waiting for you," he says.

She quickly removes her hand from his. "Oh, yeah, sorry, we're coming."

The crew member nods and then leaves and they're alone again.

"Laura—"

"We should go," she says, cutting him off, and it's like the interruption made something shift in her because she's stony faced again and her eyes are unreadable and he doesn't know how to get through to her again. She walks out and he just stands there, unmoving, because he has no idea what just happened or what to do next. He finally hears his name being called and then walks out of the room in a daze, his feet automatically taking him where he needs to be.

They sit side by side as people buzz all around them and he tries to make eye contact with her in the mirror but she just won't look at him. He's frustrated and suddenly irritated and he wants nothing more than to kick everyone out of the room just so she can finish what she was going to say.

But they're working and he's nothing if not professional so he keeps his mouth shut and tries to look normal but his smile's not reaching his eyes and he knows it, even if no one else seems to be able to tell.

They shoot all day and then they're _finally_ done and he doesn't even wait a second before he walks up to her.

"Come with me," he says.

She pauses and he waits.

"Okay," she says after a long moment, and he's a little thrown off because he was prepared to have to convince her. "Where?"

"Oh. Um, do you have your car?" he asks.

"Yeah," she answers. "I guess...I guess you can just come over. No one's home. Vanessa's in New York and my mom went with her and my dad's working late."

"Okay," he says and then sends a text to his mom letting her know that she can leave without him and they walk out silently to the parking lot to her car.

The ride to her house is silent except for the quiet hum of the radio and he doesn't think they've ever gone this long without talking and his stomach is in knots. He doesn't know if he should say anything or if he should wait for her to say something and by the time he decides to speak they're pulling up in her driveway and she's already getting out of the car. He fumbles with his seatbelt and catches up to her quickly as she unlocks the front door.

They're greeted by her dog, Velvet, who's always had a special fondness for him, and he bends down to scratch her ears as she winds around his legs.

"She still likes you," she says, a small smile on her face, and he looks up at her, surprised, feeling her eyes on him. "You haven't been here in a long time so I wasn't sure if she'd remember you."

He stands up straight and faces her. "What about her owner?" he asks softly, and then watches as her eyes widen a little bit.

She opens her mouth to say something but then she suddenly spins around and heads to the back of the house and he follows her as she opens the patio door and walks outside. She doesn't stop until she reaches the middle of the yard and then she whirls around to face him, her expression clouded.

He's seeing this side of Laura more and more, he realizes, the side of her that's serious, guarded, and maybe even a little bit sad, and he breaks down a little inside because he knows it's because of him.

"I'm sorry," he says. "I'm so, so sorry, Laura."

"It's okay," she says. "I'm not really mad anymore. Although I probably should be," she says, and she smiles a little. "But then again, how am I supposed to be? You...you told me that you loved me."

He holds his breath as he waits for her to finish because he knows that she has to get this out.

Besides, he's already done enough talking for a lifetime.

"The thing is, I'm sick of feeling like this. Broody. Emotional. Sad. That's not me," she says, pointing to herself and shaking her head. "And I think it's because I'm off balance. And it took me a while to realize it's because of you." She pauses.

He lets himself take a breath and his mind is racing as he tries to figure out what she's saying.

She looks at him hesitantly. "I...I think I'm better when you're around, too."

"We fit," she says softly, echoing his words from earlier.

And he can't breathe for a second because this girl standing nervously in front of him, this girl that he knows he probably doesn't deserve, this beautiful girl that he _loves_, has just given him her heart and he's paralyzed for a moment before he realizes that he would do anything, absolutely _anything _to protect it.

He steps forward and wraps his arms around her waist and she circles hers around his neck and it's like a scene from months ago only this time he thinks it might end a little differently.

He lowers his head and then stops, inches from her lips. "Can I kiss you now?" he whispers.

"Yes," she breathes, and then he kisses her and it's hesitant for a moment before a switch turns on inside both of them because he's pulling her closer and she's sinking into him and he thinks he's never understood what the word _complete_ meant until this moment.

Her hands are in his hair and his fingertips are skimming the bare skin of her back underneath her shirt and she's so _small_ and he loves the way she fills every empty part of him.

"I think I maybe love you too," she whispers, her eyelids fluttering shut as he leans in to kiss her again, her arms tightening around his neck as she presses herself to him, and he thinks he might have just found his forever.

_Fin._

* * *

Thank you so much for reading and reviewing and following and favoriting! I really appreciate it.


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